


Control

by Melina



Series: Nine of Cups [1]
Category: A Discovery of Witches (TV), All Souls Trilogy - Deborah Harkness
Genre: BDSM, Dominance, Dominant/Submissive, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Maledom/Femsub, Power Dynamics, Power Exchange, Submission, this isn't bundling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-06
Updated: 2019-10-06
Packaged: 2020-11-26 04:17:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20924033
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Melina/pseuds/Melina
Summary: "I'm not sure you understand what it is you're suggesting."





	Control

**Author's Note:**

> This is probably not everyone's cup of tea, so please read the tags.
> 
> This story is intentionally a bit vague as to when it's set to avoid plot spoilers beyond book/season 1. It should be spoiler-safe.

Diana wasn't sure how when or how the idea started to form in her mind. It was before this afternoon's dustup. Her failure to update him on her schedule for the day and a dead cell phone battery had led to a few hours when he couldn't reach her, resulting in a minor panic mixed with low-level fury.

He was still fairly cool with her when they went to bed that night. Rather than lying on the bed as he usually did, he sat in an armchair by the window with his book and his glass of wine. She tried to broach the subject calmly as she changed her clothes and pulled her hair into a quick braid.

"I understand the protective instinct, Matthew, I really do...and I'm sorry I upset you today."

He looked up at her, sighed, and set down his book. "It's all right, _mon coeur._ I overreacted." She approached him, and he wrapped his arms around her waist, leaning his head against her chest.

She took a deep breath. "It's difficult when protectiveness starts to feel like a need to absolutely control everything all the time. I try to be careful about scents, the things I know bother you. But there are going to be times like today when something slips through the cracks, and I hate that it causes such trouble between us."

He pulled back, taking her hands and meeting her eyes. "I know it's unfair to you. Before we mated, I had no idea how intense these feelings would be. Every instinct tells me to try to control everything to keep you safe."

She nodded. "I know." The idea continued to form, to develop, yet she was unsure what his reaction would be. She knelt in front of the chair, resting her head on his knees, and he immediately began stroking her hair. "What if...what if there were times when you could give in to that need?" She closed her eyes. In for a penny, in for a pound. "To control everything? Or at least me?"

He drew his hand back, tipping her chin up to meet his gaze. "What are you saying, Diana?"

"Here," she blurted out. "Here. Alone in our bedroom."

He blinked at her, understanding starting to dawn, and dropped his hand from her chin. "I'm not sure you understand what it is you're suggesting. And," he added, "I like our sex life as it is."

"So do I," she agreed quickly. "And I'm not saying we change it completely. Just...when you need it. It's a place where you can indulge it, and where I don't mind."

"You 'don't mind?'" He shook his head. "No. It has to be a choice you make, that you want to make, not just something you do to please me. I would never agree otherwise."

"You have experience with this." It wasn't really a question.

"Diana," he said, "Dominance and submission for sexual pleasure is older than I am. Of course I've experienced it." He smiled at her a bit ironically. "You're stubborn, Diana, and you have a clever, critical mind. You think for yourself. Those are all things I love about you," he said. "But obedience is not your strong suit."

She bristled a bit, but she couldn't deny it.

"To submit, you'd have to let go of your stubbornness, your will, and accept that my will, my desires, are all that matter."

He was watching her carefully, and she knew he could hear it as her heart rate picked up a bit.

"It takes honesty and complete trust." He leaned into her hair, inhaling deeply. "When you submit, you obey. There are rules, and consequences for breaking them. You don't question. You don't speak without permission. If you want something, you ask, or you beg." His voice grew softer, lower, rich with promise and a hint of danger. "And you _would_ beg."

A shiver went through her from head to toe, his words sending a thrill down her spine. Her reaction surprised her, and unnerved her a bit, too.

His eyes met hers, and she saw his nostrils flare. He knew, he could smell her arousal and hear the increase in her pulse. He looked at her with a bit of surprise, and not a small amount of desire. But he asked again. "I know how brave you are, but this has nothing to do with courage. This has to be what you want, not what you think I want." His eyes held hers, searching, waiting.

"Yes," she said simply, looking at him steadily. "It's what I want."

He must have found the answer he needed, and she released a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

"Give me a word," he said. "Something you wouldn't normally say in the bedroom."

She said the first thing that came to her mind. "Oxford."

He smiled. "Very well. If you say 'Oxford,' everything will stop -- but only if you say that word. Not 'no,' or 'please,' or anything else." His hands cupping her face, he drew her far enough away to look into her eyes. "And if I think you've had enough, that things have gone too far, I'll say it for you. Do you understand?"

"I understand."

He drew her to her feet, leading her to the center of the room. He took a few steps away, toward the opposite wall, and paused a long moment before turning back to her. His expression had changed; he looked her up and down coolly. "Why are you still wearing those?" he said, looking at her nightclothes. "Take them off."

She suddenly felt self-conscious. It was absurd; there wasn't a square inch of her body that Matthew hadn't seen, touched, tasted. But it felt different now, when he was standing there fully dressed, watching her with that expression. Conscious of his gaze, she swallowed her uncertainty and lifted her top over her head, dropping it beside her, and skinned off her leggings and underwear. She felt awkward, and not knowing what to do with her hands, clenched them into fists before releasing them at her sides.

He slowly looked her up and down, stepping closer. He pulled a pillow from the bed and placed it in front of her feet. "Kneel."

She complied, dropping to the floor rather gracelessly, before looking up at him, unsure what she was searching for in his eyes.

"Head up, eyes down," he said. "Sit back on your heels. Thighs apart. Rest your hands on them, palms up." He was instructing, not scolding, but his voice was cool, detached. She tried to calm her breathing, to listen, to do as he asked. He approached her, and with one hand on her shoulder and the other brushing her ribcage, he adjusted her posture. His touch made her want more, and she struggled to remain still.

He disappeared behind her, utterly silent, but she felt his cool gaze. She felt a gentle tug at her hair as her braid came loose, as he spread her hair across her shoulders. She heard his soft voice almost directly behind her ear. "You look so lovely like this, Diana, but you're tense." She felt his fingers across her shoulders and neck, tracing tension she didn't know she was holding. "Take a deep breath," he said, and she did. "Breathe." She exhaled slowly, the way she might during yoga class. "Again," he repeated, and she complied. "Better," he said. "Stop thinking. Listen, and trust me."

She let her eyes drop closed, her world shrinking to the feel of his touch, the sound of his voice.

"Stay very still for me," he said. He traced his finger down her spine, from the base of her neck to her ass, and she couldn't help but flinch in reaction. He tsked at her, and she felt a quick, sharp nip to her shoulder, and she flinched again. "I said still," his voice reproachful. "Do not move." His voice wasn't loud, but to her, it might as well have been the crack of a whip.

He repeated the gesture, slower this time, and she was able to remain still. "Better," he said. When lips and tongue replaced his finger, she gasped, but managed to hold herself still. He took his time, tracing every inch of her spine with his mouth. It took everything she had not to shiver, to lean back into his touch, but she managed to remain unmoving.

When he finished, he spoke softly into her ear again. "Good girl," he said. "Your legs are getting numb. Let's get you up."

He moved around in front of her and took her hand, lifting her to her feet, making sure she was steady before releasing her. He tossed the pillow she'd been kneeling on aside. "Unbutton my shirt," he said.

Her hands were trembling just a touch, but she managed to unfasten the buttons. She lifted her hands to push the shirt off his shoulders, then remembered what she'd been told to do, and dropped her hands to her sides. She looked up at him, waiting for direction.

"Eyes down," he said, frowning, and she immediately dropped her gaze, annoyed with herself that she hadn't remembered the earlier instruction.

"Remove the rest of my clothes, and set them aside," he said, and she listened carefully and followed his instructions exactly, keeping her eyes on what she was doing. She bent to help him step out of his trousers and shorts, then set the clothing down carefully. His body was as beautiful as ever, and she flexed her hands, willing herself not to reach for him, to touch. His cock was hard, and only inches from her face, and she wanted it in her mouth.

She could feel his eyes on her, and he knew what she wanted, too. "Later, perhaps," he said. "Lie down on the bed on your back, in the middle."

She complied, listening for him, but determinedly not looking around the room. She felt his weight on the bed next to her. He set her arms above her head before bending to kiss her, and she opened her mouth to him hungrily, her hands moving unconsciously to touch him, to draw him to her.

She realized her mistake as he broke the kiss, giving her another sharp nip on the shoulder. He took both wrists in his hands and pinned them above her head. "Keep your hands there," he said. "Or do I have to tie you down?"

The frisson of arousal that went through her at those words made him raise an eyebrow. "Really? Very well." He slipped from the bed, returning moments later with a long, lightweight blue scarf. "Give me your hands," he said, and she complied. He quickly tied her wrists together before looping the scarf around a post on the headboard, making sure her arms were bent at the elbows. He checked that the knot around her wrists was secure, but not too tight.

He slid down the bed beside her, resting lazily on one elbow. "Now, then," he said. "You may move as much as you want within those restraints, and look wherever you wish." He drew a finger down the center of her torso. "The only thing you cannot do is come without permission. Do you understand?"

His final words drew a low sound from her that she tried to suppress. "No," Matthew said, "I want to hear you. Your responses belong to me. Do you understand?"

She drew a breath, but it was barely enough to bring forth a whisper. "Yes." His hand was on her thigh now, tracing idle patterns.

"Tell me your word," he said.

"Oxford."

"And you will use it if you need to, at any time."

She nodded.

"Good girl," he said, and then he turned his attention to driving her slowly mad. His hands and mouth moved over her, relentless, demanding. He sucked one nipple deep into his mouth, biting gently, before moving to her other breast. His hands skimmed her belly and legs, and her thighs fell open for him. He met her eyes as his mouth moved down her body, teasing, setting every nerve ending on fire. When his fingers parted her and slipped inside her wet heat, she squirmed underneath him, moaning softly, her eyes dropping closed. As his thumb reached her clit, she arched into him, wordlessly asking for more, even though she knew she couldn't come unless he said she could. She knew she should stop moving, stop falling deeper into his touch...

He stopped and moved his hand away, back to drawing circles on her belly. He watched her, waiting for her breathing to even out, her pulse to slow.

Then he started again, slow but persistent, his mouth sliding down her body as he looked up at her. She couldn't watch him as he sank down onto her; it was too much as it was. She gasped for breath as he licked into her, his tongue devastating, perfect, his lips suckling her clit until she was right there again, teetering on a knife's edge.

And again, he stopped, looking up at her with perfect innocence. He knew her body's responses so well, what every intake of air meant, every twitch of muscle. When his vampire senses were added to his lover's knowledge, he could read her like a book, and he took every advantage of it. There was no hiding anything from him; he could hear every heartbeat, smell every change in her body, feel her witch's blood singing with arousal.

He wasn't trying to tempt her into breaking the rules; he always stopped and pulled back every time she came too close to the edge, gentling down her arousal before ratcheting it up again. After three or four more times stopping and starting -- maybe more, she had no idea -- she was almost ready to weep, torn between arching into him to achieve the release she sought and desperate not to displease him. She sank deeper into his touch, conscious thought deserting her. His fingers buried deep inside her, he shifted between her thighs, licking a thin sheen of perspiration from her stomach, her breasts.

He stilled his hand, lifted his mouth from her. "I could do this all night," he said, and she moaned at the thought. "Unless there is something you want to ask me, Diana?" he asked calmly.

Whatever was left of her pride, her dignity, she gave it up to him. She begged. "Please, Matthew, please, please let me come..." she babbled, barely hearing her own words, pleading with him. "If it pleases you..."

He smiled at her. "You do please me. You have permission, Diana. Come for me," he said, curling his fingers deep inside her, teasing her clit with his thumb. With a cry, she did, her entire body arching into him, feeling as if she were breaking into pieces as she shuddered through her release. Matthew continued to stroke and touch her, but as her spasms started to ease, he withdrew his hand and crawled up the bed, a predatory gleam in his eye.

He thrust deep inside her with a moan, his mouth finding her lips, her neck, her nipples. His rhythm was relentless and offered her no respite between her release and renewed arousal. It was almost too much. He lifted his head and she met his eyes, their arousal feeding each other. Bereft of thought, she was nothing but feeling, emotion, desire. She gave over whatever she had left that was solely hers, surrendering to him, to his need. He was so beautiful, his eyes bright, completely focused on her. He took her hard, driving her toward another climax, one she wasn't ready for even as it swiftly approached.

He groaned as he thrust deep inside her and came. She only distantly heard his voice as he told her to come again for him, and she did. If the first time had been intense, this time it was shattering, and she cried out, her hands twisting in their bonds, gasping for breath as her entire body tensed and relaxed in waves, leaving her trembling.

He kissed her, reaching above her head to release her wrists. He wrapped his arms tightly around her and whispered, "Shhh...Diana, it's all right." He wiped away tears she hadn't been aware she'd shed, and looking down at her, he brushed her hair from her face before peppering her eyelids with soft kisses. "You did so beautifully, _mon coeur. _ Rest now."

Her limbs still felt boneless, and she was only beginning to catch her breath. He held her for long minutes, whispering comforting words, rubbing her arms and checking her wrists for any marks. It took a long while for her breathing to slow, her pulse to return to something approaching its normal rhythm. She drank the water he handed her a bit shakily before returning to his arms.

He kissed the top of her head. "How do you feel?" Matthew asked, his voice low and soft.

"I'm not sure," she answered honestly. "It was a little overwhelming."

"In a good way, I hope."

"Yes," she smiled at him. "A very good way."

"Watching you, my clever scholar, stop thinking and give yourself over to feeling... It was rather awe-inspiring."

"You were pretty awe-inspiring yourself, even if you are a cruel, cruel man," she said, smiling at his broad grin. "It's different than I thought. Not so much about..." she tried to find the right words.

"Props and costumes?" he asked. "No, it's not about that at all. It's about a submissive willing to trust completely, and a dominant who understands how precious that trust is. Anything else is either a tool that furthers that relationship, or something that gets in the way."

She hesitated to ask, but she wanted to know. "You nipped me a few times, but I don't think those even left a mark."

He grinned at her. "I can leave a mark, if you really want me to..." He bent and kissed her neck in the spot he knew she loved most, biting just enough to bring blood to the surface under her skin, but not to break it.

She laughed, meeting his eyes as he lifted his head, still hoping he would answer the question she hadn't quite asked. He looked at her a little wryly. "Pain can bring its own pleasure, but it depends on the person. I know you, Diana, and you aren't going to respond to heavy pain, not after everything you've been through, and I couldn't imagine inflicting it. A little light pain, or sensual pain, on the other hand…" his voice trailed off.

Her eyes widened. "You're making plans!"

He looked at her with a small, mocking smile. "Perhaps if your scent didn't change when your brain is flooded with dopamine, I might believe you didn't love the idea."

She rolled her eyes. Vampire senses could be maddening.

He nipped her shoulder again, and she shivered from the memory of it as well as the sensation. He smiled. "You're always beautiful, Diana. But the way you trusted me tonight...you honor me." His eyes held hers, his tone serious. "I will work on my overprotectiveness, to trust that you can take care of yourself, the way you trusted me."

She shifted until they were side by side, and she kissed him. He let her lead now, and she explored his mouth thoroughly, running her hands through his hair and across his neck and back as she had wanted to all night. He spoke when she broke the kiss. "You're exhausted," he said. "Sleep. The rest will keep until tomorrow."

He pulled her close, tucking her head under his chin, and she settled deeper into his arms. As she began to drift off, she heard him whisper, "You're unbelievably beautiful when you beg." She smiled to herself, ignoring the blush that threatened, and slipped into sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to killa for assuring me I hadn't gone completely 'round the bend!
> 
> All feedback appreciated.


End file.
